Until Next Time Rio

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Our last big meeting of the week was a gradation for the women entrepreneurs who have completed their program. The organization will continue to interact with them such as the savings challenge that will start in January. But, their formal workshops are complete. Several of the women shared that their mentor offered to stay in contact so they can work through problems the women might face in their business together. The morning was filled with sharing how they have grown and how they hope to continue to evolve. We then moved the festivities to a restaurant in the favela where we eat, laughed and ended with handing out their certificates of completion.

I was able to sit in on some meetings put together by the government to engage with local non profits with the purpose of bettering the lives of women, and by extension the lives of the next generation. Female entrepreneurship is a natural piece to this intiative. We shared with more officials our intension to offer low burrier loans to these entrepreneurs. We reminded them that their loan programs have requirements that exclude majority of the women we serve. We hope that down the road they might put some funding toward programs with less red tape.

I am planning to spend the weekend in Panama on my way home, but before heading out I wanted to see a few more sites in Rio. This included a beautiful public park: Parque Lage. It was once the home of a rich family who built guard towers, tree houses, and beautiful landscaping. It now belongs to the city and is a surprisingly peaceful place to sit or walk in the middle of a very busy city. I also visited a gorgeous library: Royal Portuguese Reading Room. It is the largest collection of Portuguese books outside of Portugal and Times Magazine says it is in the top 5 most beautiful libraries in the world.

My final week in any location is bittersweet. I am excited for the next location, or in this case to come home. But also sad to be leaving the friends I have made and the organization I have spent so much time getting to know. This is both my favorite part of my longer term travel and the hard part. I frequently miss special events, birthdays or weddings back at home. But in exchange I get to widen my understanding of the world, think beyond my own needs, and gain lasting friendships in a variety of cultures and countries.

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